We are very proud to announce the first aortic KOL Forum in the series!

Key Opinion Leader Forum 5: Aortic – Uncomplicated type B aortic dissection – decision doubts and future perspectives

You will be able to pose your questions to our panel: KOLs Firas Mussa and Jacob Butz Lilly, as well as Zoran Rancic, the Aortic Pathway Lead.

https://esvs.org/produit/kol-forum-5-aortic-ticket-members-only-event/

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Objective:

Do you have a challenging case? Are you unsure how to treat aortic issues? Do you want a different perspective? Are you a member? Then you are welcome join our new KOL Forum to hear how a KOL would treat your case! This is an educational initiative for those with moderate to advanced vascular surgery knowledge. It allows participants to ask and get a response to burning questions on moderate to difficult cases by either submitting them for possible selection in the Forum, or via the KOL Forum case library. You can also just join and learn! The sessions are designed to:

Provide more advanced training to experienced surgeons
Provide a rare opportunity to interact with THE experts in a field
Receive advice on personal cases
Be informal spaces
Be exclusive for members
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The first aortic KOL Forum and fifth in the series, will host Jacob Butz-Lilly and Firas Mussa

Jacob Budtz-Lilly is a senior consultant and associate professor of vascular surgery at the University Hospital of Aarhus in Aarhus, Denmark. He is responsible for their aortic program, which is the national referral centre for complex aortic disease in Denmark. He has a wealth of international experience and relationships, having studied medicine both in Canada and the United States and specialising in vascular surgery in Denmark. He completed his PhD on aortic pathology in Uppsala, Sweden, where he went on to complete a fellowship in complex aortic treatment in both Uppsala and Malmö. Dr. Budtz-Lilly is the previous president of the Danish Vascular Society and currently sits as the chair for Vascunet, a committee within the European Society of Vascular Surgery, and the incoming co-chair of the International Consortium of Vascular Registries. He is a Fellow of the European Board of Vascular Surgery and a member of the European Journal of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery editorial board. He has multiple publications and is active in several trials on complex aortic disease. Dr. Budtz-Lilly is also the primary investigator for the ongoing Scandinavian trial of Uncomplicated Aortic Dissection Therapy (The SUNDAY Trial).

Dr. Firas Mussa is nationally and internationally recognised as a thought leader in the treatment of aortic dissection. In 2023, the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) awarded Dr. Mussa along with colleagues from SUNY Downstate and Duke University, the IMPROVE-AD trial. This is a multi-center, multi-million dollar, seven-year, randomized controlled trial examining the treatment efficacy of upfront thoracic endovascular aneurysm repair (TEVAR) as compared to Standard of Care with medical therapy with selective TEVAR for patients with uncomplicated Type B aortic dissection (uTBAD). Prior to that, Dr. Mussa was the first physician from New York to become a member of the prestigious International Registry of Aortic Dissection (IRAD) and leading NYU to become the first in the state dedicated for the treatment of this potentially fatal condition. Having published extensively in both basic and clinical research, he has presented around the world. His areas of clinical expertise include open and complex endovascular repair of thoracic and abdominal aortic aneurysms, type B aortic dissections, carotid artery stenosis, lower extremity ischemia, mesenteric ischemia, and venous insufficiency and varicose veins. He is a Distinguished Member of the Society of Vascular Surgery. Dr. Mussa’s ultimate passion is educating the next generation of leaders in vascular surgery. He has been actively involved teaching, mentoring and training medical students, residents and fellows.

Registration and Cancellation policy: This is a free event for members only and pre-registration is required. You do not have to submit a case to be able to register, but the success of the event relies on your interesting cases and you won’t even have to present it! Simply reserve your place above or get in touch with us at info@esvs.org.

Sending us your case: If you want a chance to have yours selected, please send it in, using the case submission template (sticking to the number of slides as much as possible, order can be changed), to ciara@esvs.org by January 28th. If your case is selected for the event, you will be awarded a FREE Academy workshop ticket of your choice, at the 2025 Annual Meeting (except CCVUS; the European Triathlon; and the collaborative session with NOTSS)! The Annual Meeting takes place this year in Istanbul, Türkiye 23rd – 26th September 2025.

Let us know if you want to remain anonymous; have your case explained by the KOL; or whether you prefer to take a few minutes to introduce your case on the day. The panel will then review and select two of the most interesting and appropriate cases for the session and show you how it could be done!  There will be time at the end for questions from the audience about these and other aortic cases.

Keep any eye on our KOL Forum case library and social media as cases will be added before and after the event, to start the discussion between you and the KOLs.

Where registration numbers are too low to run the event, this will be announced on the website no later than 48 hours before the event starts. Please be aware that the online session will be recorded and following the session we may share the recording across social media and communication platforms and in our ESVS Library. If you don’t wish to appear on these recordings, please ensure your camera is switched off prior to the start of the session.

CME: CME accreditation is not being sought for this course.

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